Lippi Vents Anger At 'Complacent' Stars
Sunday 14th October 2001
Juventus coach Marcello Lippi claimed that complacency among his players allowed Torino to come back from three goals down at the Stadio Delle Alpi on Sunday.
Juventus took an early three-goal lead thanks to a double strike from Alessandro Del Piero and another from Igor Tudor, but Torino hit back after the break to earn a 3-3 draw with goals from Christiano Lucarrelli, Marco Ferrante and Riccardo Maspero.
Lippi admitted that he finds the outcome difficult to believe, but insisted that his players only had themselves to blame. "They came out in the second half acting as if it was all over," he fumed.
"But derby matches are never over until the final whistle. We knew it would be a tough contest and were in the right frame of mind before the game. That showed in our first-half display.
"But our opponent showed great heart to come back. The first goal was a warning signal, but we failed to react. It's a pity because a win would have put us top," added Lippi.
Juventus substitute Marcelo Salas squandered a golden opportunity to win the match in the last minute when referee Salvatore Borriello pointed to the penalty spot, but the Chile international blasted wide.
Lippi, though, refused to blame his Salas. "I want to state that I would be just as angry if Salas had scored the penalty and we had won," insisted Lippi.
"There is no point blaming one individual. We should never have been in that situation in the first place," he added.
Torino coach Giancarlo Camolese explained that it was a difficult game for the coaches to watch. "People are asking me if this is the sort of match I had dreamed of...well I can tell you it is definitely not," he smiled.
"The second half might have gone like a dream, but the first half was a nightmare," added the coach, who insisted that he did not have anything extraordinary to say to his players at the interval.
"I just told them that it was not the time to start punching walls," he said. "We needed to re-organise a little because in the first half we were conceding goals on the break. That should never happen.
"It was a great chance for the players to show what they are made and they showed that they have big hearts. Flighting spirit is something that Torino players are born with," added Camolese.
